"I begged Vince"- 3-time champion reveals a major reason for leaving WWE to join AEW

A former 3-time WWE champion who currently works for AEW recently revealed a massive reason as to why he left the Stamford-based promotion for Tony Khan's company.

Over the years, there's been a lot of talent shuffle between AEW and WWE, with many stars opting to move to All Elite Wrestling either for better prospects or because they were tired of their predicament. An example of the latter is former two-time United States Champion and one-time Tag Team Champion MVP. The 51-year-old left the sports entertainment juggernaut after his contract expired in August 2024 and subsequently joined All Elite Wrestling shortly after. Recently, MVP weighed in on a major reason why he chose to leave WWE.

Speaking on the latest edition of INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Montel Vontavious Porter stated that his group, The Hurt Business, which included Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander, shutting down without cause was what led him to make the decision.

“Everybody knows that The Hurt Business got shut down in WWE for reasons that have never been made clear to me. No one has ever said, and I begged Vince, Bobby begged Vince, please don’t do this..So when it came time for our contracts, I made it very clear that I don’t want to be there anymore," said MVP [H/T Raj Giri on X ]

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MVP convinced Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin to join AEW.

In the same edition of INSIGHT, MVP also mentioned that after he concluded he wasn't going to re-sign with WWE, he told both Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin to follow suit and asked them to join All Elite Wrestling together. For those unaware, MVP, Lashley, and Benjamin were part of The Hurt Business faction in WWE, a group which the trio rebranded into The Hurt Syndicate in Tony Khan's promotion.

"I wasn’t gonna re-sign. I was in Bobby’s ear constantly like 'Don’t re-sign. Shelton got released. Don’t re-sign. Let’s you me and Sheldon get back together. Let’s go to AEW. I know we can go to AEW and we can pick this thing back up.'" [H/T Raj Giri on X ]

As of today, MVP's group, The Hurt Syndicate, is one of the most dominant factions in All Elite Wrestling. The group will be competing at All Out 2025 later this month against Ricochet and Gates of Agony.

About the author

Karan Raj is a senior writer in Sportskeeda's AEW division. He holds an engineering degree from Manipal University, but his passion for sports motivated him to pursue an MSc in Sports Business from the University of Liverpool. Karan has been in the sports marketing industry for the past seven years.

As a lifelong WWE fan and enthusiast of wrestling entertainment, he has always been drawn to the industry's unique blend of sports and storytelling. Karan was introduced to the business by his elder sister when he was 10 years old.

Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Karan worked for several reputable organizations, such as Ting Works LLP and Sportz Interactive, wearing different hats. He also wrote the anthem of UP Rudras, a hockey team that played in the Hockey India League. Karan conducts thorough research while writing articles and only relies on credible sources for information.

Karan's favorite pro wrestler is Seth Rollins. He admires The Visionary's versatility as a performer and his ability to play both heel and babyface characters to perfection. Besides Rollins, Karan looks up to Roman Reigns for his storytelling skills and ability to captivate audiences.

In AEW, he enjoys watching Will Ospreay compete inside the ring. Karan loves The Aerial Assassin's technical in-ring ability and athleticism. If Karan could go back to the Attitude Era, he would combine forces with Jericho and promise to elevate his career to the same level as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.When not writing about pro wrestling, Karan loves to play and watch football. It is a huge part of his life.

He is also a massive fan of tennis and is learning to play the sport. Apart from sports, he also knows how to play the ukulele.

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Edited by Karan Raj